USA Deaf Snowboarding Spotlight

CARA FRANK:

Hello, this is the US Women and Men’s Snowboarding team!

I’m Cara Frank. I’m the team leader and I’m from Oregon.

LAUREN WEIBERT:

Hi, my name is Lauren Weibert. I’m from Colorado.

LAUREN BENEDICT:

Hi, my name is Lauren Benedict and I’m from California!

HANNAH WHEATCROFT:

Hello, my name is Hannah Wheatcroft. I’m from Washington. We do Big Air, Slopestyle and Boardercross.

ERIC ANDREW COHEN:

Hello, I’m Eric Andrew Cohen and I’m from Colorado. We’re doing Slopestyle, Big Air, and Boardercross.

SEAN ESSON:

My name is Sean Esson and I’m from California.

JEFF POLLOCK:

Hello, I’m Jeff Pollock and I’m from Utah. I’m competing in snowboarding, Parallel Giant Slalom, Parallel Slalom and Boardercross.

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LAUREN WEIBERT:

I just love snowboarding. It’s my passion and that’s why I go through this.

[Cut to Photo: Credit to Hugh Carey]

SEAN ESSON:

This is a culture to us, the mountain culture is really unique. It’s beautiful how we all have a connection even though we’re all from different countries. We don’t judge each other and we immediately bonded on day one!

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LAUREN WEIBERT:

I really want to try to inspire other deaf women to try and join these sports. They need to come to the Deaflympics! It’s a really amazing experience.

[Cut to Photo: Credit to Amelia Hamilton]

SEAN ESSON:

We get our support from all of you in the deaf community. Their support help pay for us to come here, they give words of compliments that inspire and much more. I’m inspired by those and I’m proud to represent them.

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LAUREN WEIBERT:

Right now, I feel like the sport isn’t very popular. I think the problem is it’s not very accessible and it’s so expensive too! Nowadays, the tickets are like $200! Who can afford that?

[Cut to Photo: Credit to Amelia Hamilton]

SEAN ESSON:

People will ski and snowboard recreationally. Very few will participate in competitions. I highly recommend participating in your local competitions if you want to improve your skills and experience new things and everything. They should feel like they have a chance of winning a medal at Deaflympics. They can!

[Cut to B-roll]

JEFF POLLOCK:

This is my 6th, actually 5th time, coming to Deaflympics. To represent America is something I hold very dear. I feel that snowboarding is a special sport. We do have several deaf athletes on the team, but there are many Americans who could be involved. They should get the chance to feel that pride of representing America.

[Cut to B-roll]

CARA FRANK:

This is my first Deaflympics. I’m learning through my husband who used to ski. I learned and ended up getting involved as the team leader. Growing up, there really wasn’t any opportunities for me to bring my training to the next level. So that’s what I want to provide for the next generation. I’m really excited because I see that the future is bright. We have amazing skiers and snowboarders.